Woman points gun at man in road rage incident

COLDWATER — Charges have not yet been filed against an Allen woman who, while driving down U.S. 12 in Coldwater Friday afternoon, pointed a handgun at a driver in another vehicle.

Coldwater Deputy Director of Public Safety Joe Scheid said the 48-year-old woman "admitted she showed her handgun to the other motorist because his aggressive driving scared her."

The woman told police the other motorist, a 26-year-old man from Coldwater, had been tailgating her, then pulled up alongside the woman's vehicle and "screamed something at her."

The alleged victim told police that he and the woman were both speeding through town when the woman slammed on her brakes, causing him to change lanes.

"He claimed the woman pointed the gun at him as he pulled alongside her car," Scheid said.

Police were alerted to the situation by the man, who called 911 from his cellphone. Several units from the Branch County Sheriff's Office and Michigan State Police responded.

Authorities checked to make sure the woman was carrying the gun legally, and found that she had been issued a concealed pistol license in Hillsdale County in February 2013.

"It just goes to show you how quickly things can escalate from aggressive driving," Scheid said. "This was a case of tailgating and it got out of hand. It could have had tragic consequences."

Police confiscated the gun to keep as evidence and allowed to woman to leave the scene. The case has been forwarded to the Branch County Sheriff's Office and criminal charges may be filed.

"We basically told (the woman) that being scared of someone in another car was not a good enough reason to point a gun at another person," Scheid said.

Scheid said the names of the people involved in the incident would not be released unless charges were filed.

Michigan code states, "A person who intentionally but without malice points or aims a firearm at or toward another person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $500 or both."